Bert’s December Dividend Income Summary

December is THE BEST month to be a dividend growth investor. Not only is it the third month of the quarter the most popular month to pay a dividend, but December is also the month where mutual fund companies pay their capital gains distributions! Whoo. Lanny and I were refreshing Vanguard’s website hourly (okay, probably less frequent than that) since we were eagerly awaiting the results. For Lanny, the results WERE INSANE as he crossed $2,000 in dividend income for the first time ever. Lanny congratulations my man. Just incredible! While my portfolio is far behind his (one day I’ll catch you Lanny!), my December’s have historically been strong. If I ever had a chance to record a record level of dividend income and beat him this month, it would be in December. So now, let’s dive into the details and check out my December dividend income summary!

December dividend income summary

This month, I SET A NEW PERSONAL RECORD by earning $1,724.44 in dividend income. I could not be more excited with results. Sure, I couldn’t defeat Lanny this month, but I am to even thing about that! This represents a 46.6% increase compared to last year. Each month I have also been highlighting my dividend growth rate without my wife’s investments since 2017 is the first year I am reporting our consolidated dividend income totals. Thank goodness this is the last time I am showing this metric! Even after excluding my wife’s dividends received, I was still able to post a 25% increase compared to 2016. The table below provides a detailed breakdown of the dividends we received during the month

Here are some interesting facts and items I wanted to highlight from the table above:

I received dividend payments from 32 companies and mutual funds during the month, or more than 1 dividend per day!

The dividends and capital gains distributions played a huge role in our success this month, as over 68% of our dividends received were from mutual funds. The largest of which is from VWNAX, a semi-annual dividend paying fund. What’s funny is that I no longer contribute to that fund each paycheck and I still continue to receive a massive dividend and dividend growth rate from this fund. I have now selected VINIX as the sole mutual fund receiving contributions each paycheck and you can see that this amount increased tremendously during the quarter. But still, that VWNAX distribution always makes me smile.

Speaking of mutual funds, our recent strategy of investing larger amounts of our pay check into our 401-k and HSA accounts to maximize the tax benefits is really starting to pay off. The impact is largely measured through growth in our mutual fund distributions, which continue to post great growth rates each quarter. I’m excited to discuss this topic more with my goals for 2018, because I still have room for improvement in this category. But the bottom line is that I am going to make sure to maximize my tax benefits going forward.

We received our first dividend payment from the newly merged DWDP. However, this is just a timing difference from another month as the merged company switched the month they paid their dividend.

Two dividends grew compared to last year because of purchases. I had initiated a position in Kroger earlier in the year and added to my position in TROW as well. Outside of those two increases, and the previously mentioned DWDP item, the majority of the other companies show an increased pay out due to the good old fashioned power of dividend re-investing and dividend increases. Man do I love dividend growth investing!

dividend increases and portfolio items

Unfortunately, I did not purchase any stocks this month. But the great news is that I did receive two HUGE dividend increases during the month. Okay, huge is relative, but I always get excited when a company I own decides to increase their payout to shareholders. I actually covered both of these in my monthly article summarizing companies that are expected to increase their dividend and companies that increased their dividend during the last month. So if you read that article already, you should be pretty familiar with these two companies. This month, I received increased from AT&T and PFE. AT&T’s increase added $7.03 in forward dividend income and PFE’s increased added $8.61. Guess what I had to do to earn that extra $15.64 in forward income? That’s right…..nothing. Man I freaking love dividend growth investing.

Now that 2017 is coming to a close, I thought it would be fun to highlight that I received $5,657.15 in dividend income during the year. What I love about this stat even more is that it is actually greater than my current projected dividend income stream (Thank’s mutual funds). For comparisons sake, I received $3,478.08 and $3,331.16 in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Again, something must have been in the air in 2017 because I cannot believe we were able to realize that large of a growth rate during the year. Of course, it does help that I started reporting my wife’s income totals during the year as opposed to prior years.

summary

I was fortunate to end the year with a new personal record and go out in style. If I was able to realize such large gains, I cannot wait to see what all of you were able to accomplish this month. I’m assuming all of us finished the year strong and are heading into 2018 with a ton of momentum. What this shows me is that the results of what we are doing are real. Every dollar we save and are able to invest makes a huge difference. Think about that. We are all scraping every dollar we can, cutting our bills where possible, and trying to turn cash outflows into income producing assets Sure I finished the year strong, but I know there is SO MUCH more work to be done. I can’t stop now. I need to stay focused and make sure that I set challenging goals that will push me to the limit and make sure that I am once again setting a record in December 2018. This has been an amazing year and I cannot thank all of you enough for your encouragement and motivation along the way. Let’s crush this in 2018!

What was your dividend income total for the month of December? Did you set a new record? What percent of your income was from mutual funds? What dividend increases did you receive during the month?

Hi Bert, 1.7K is totally insane. It’s enough money to buy a big chunk of shares without contribution fresh capital. That’s the magic power of compound growth. Very nice YoY growth! I’m pretty sure that your December 2018 will be over 2K in passive income. Can’t wait to see your progress this year.

DIS, I hope you are right about a $2k December 2018. It is looking like I’ll hit that with my planned 401k contributions during the year, but lets see what happens and if the funds are as generous with their distributions in 2018. I appreciate the kind words and I am really looking forward to the day I can turn off the DRIP and live off of my income or buy a nice, new investment with the proceeds.

Congrats on the new record! Awesome growth numbers. And even though you didn’t beat Lanny, you came pretty close actually. Friendly competition helps push us right? Keep it up and best of luck in 2018!

Thank you so much! I was pumped to set the record and I’m going to be even more pumped when I break it one day 🙂 I don’t are how far behind I am, I”m always going to find a way to strike competition with Lanny. One day I’ll cross him, I know it haha

Very nice Bert! I always like seeing people take advantage of tax-sheltered accounts if they have them available. What a monster month. As for me – between my 401(k), traditional IRA, and Roth IRA accounts, I got $2,249.22 in tax-free dividends this month. How can you not love December??

OVER $2k. That’s incredible and you crushed both of us this month. You were talking about us taking advantage of our tax-free accounts, you CRUSHED it and took some serious advantage of it. Tax-free…amazing.

Thanks! I still can’t believe Lanny pulled off the month he did and surpass $2k. December is such a fun month to receive dividends. How can you complain about receiving an average of a dividend per day?

Thanks! The spending isn’t as bad as it seems, because I feel like the extra spending falls into three categories: Gifts for family, donations, or spending while hanging out with others you don’t get to see too frequently. IT sucks spending, but I’m happy to do it if it fits in those three categories.

Congrats on record month Bert! I couldn’t agree with you more that December is the best month to be a Dividend Growth Investor! 😀 I’m happy to say it was a record month for me as well. To top it off, it was great to see T and PFE raise their dividends too. Keep up the great work Bert! 🙂

LOVE the Lil John reference. I don’t care what anyone says, I’ll always think of Chapelle’s Show when I hear someone shout “WHAT.” It takes me back to my high school days haha I agree completely, let’s crush 2018 and build off our successful 2017s.

Thanks! You’ll get there before you know it, especially with your attitude and hard work. You’re right, $1,700 would be a very solid investment for me and I would love to make such a purchase here in January.

Congrats on a strong finish in December Bert. You know, what’s great about ending 2017 on a strong note is that it gives you a strong momentum to the start of the New Year. Wishing that you have a prosperous new year in 2018. Looking forward, as always, to follow your progress.

Thank you very much. Very kind of you to say. Happy New Year to you as well and like you, I cannot wait to get things rolling. You’re going to have a great and prosperous year yourself and I cannot wait to follow along and see what you are able to accomplish.

Fantastic job Bert, you and your wife have smashed it out of the park. You’re really on your way to getting your dividends to cover your expenses :D. It’s amazing how much progress you’ve made since we started following your journey.

Happy New Year! I appreciate your kind words and I”m looking forward to stopping by and seeing how you finished the year as well We’ve follow each other for a while now. Man, doesn’t it feel like just yesterday that we started on this journey? 2018 is going to be an incredible year and I cannot wait until this time next year. Again, thanks again for the kind words.

As always, with wife or without the wife totals you are doing amazingly well. Those year over year results speak for themselves, especially when it’s double digit gains. I know I don’t have to tell you this, but stay in the game. Keep those buys coming in consistently no matter what’s going on in the world or how scary it looks in the financial markets. The best time to invest was yesterday, next best… today. Look forward to following your 2018 journey!

Thank you so much! Like you, we are all in on this game and are not going anywhere. Agree, we all do a great job of finding those great, steady dividend companies that have not only survived but have paid a dividend through many economic cycles, wars, or other tough political climates. We all need to keep on pushing and stay positive, because good things will happen to those that are patient.

WOW! Over 1700$ for the month with a 46% year over year increase – these numbers speck for themselves. Congrats!! I can see you smile from thousands of miles away;-) My december income and my total for the year 2017 were new records too. You can check them out here:

Thank you very much! I’ll be honest…I did have a pretty large smile when all of this was said and done haha Looks like you were able to post a heck of a month as well. You’re attitude is great and is going to help make 2018 a successful one. I’m projecting that you are going to set many records and I cannot wait to see!

Nice. $1700 in passive income is impressive. I had a spike in December as well. I started investing in VINIX last month through a 457 plan at work. I like the KR purchase too. I think that the concerns over Amazon are a bit overblown.

Thank you very much, from one Swagbucker to another haha VINIX is a great fund and you’ll enjoy their payouts. I’m just a little bummer that there wasn’t a capital gains distribution this year. Maybe that will make 2018’s payout even larger?? I agree with your assessment about KR. The grocery industry is a tough nut to crack. From what I’ve seen, crowds haven’t increased and the prices haven’t decreased as much as expected at the Whole Foods. Tiem will tell, btu your traditional KR’s may be just fine in the long run.

Congrats Bert, those numbers are amazing! I hadn’t thought to include mutual fund dividends before. It is great to see another record breaking December for you in the books. Looking forward to seeing more records broken in 2018!

Thank you so much! You should ABSOLUTELY include your mutual fund in your income summary. They still pay a dividend even though it isn’t an individual dividend stock. Take credit for what you’ve earned!!

Great job Bert – both of you guys did great this month! 46.6% y/y is awesome especially when you consider the dollar amounts and congrats on the new personal record. I’m sure you’ll be breaking those every year now!

Amazing job Bert! You have really inspired me to embark on my own path to financial freedom. I just recently passed the £200 dividend mark for December, I can’t wait until I can receive what you are now! Keep up the fantastic work!

Thank you very much! It is kind of you to say that I’ve inspired you, especially considering how many people have inspired me over the years in this wonderful dividend growth investing community. Congrats on crossing 200 Euros on your end! You’ll get there before you know it, trust me. It grows quickly, especially once you become highly motivated.

What a great month, Bert! Amazing month indeed! Actually, for me the third month of a quarter is the smallest as my tiny portfolio has companies that pay more in the first two months 🙂 That’s nothing to worry about and let’s get back to work and grow those portfolios even further! You should see the light at the end of the tunnel already 😀 Keep it up! -BI

Hi Bert. Awesome job to close out the month and year. Outstanding YoY progress. Who doesn’t like setting records? Congrats! I noticed two instances of JNJ in your table. I’m assuming one is in your wife’s account? Am I correct in thinking you will report only 1 set of numbers in 2018? Hopefully, that’s a little less effort preparing the monthly summary. What will you use that extra time for? Maybe lining up the next dividend stock for purchase? Take care.

Thank you so much! It was definitely a strong finish for myself and so many other people in the community. Yes sir, that is correct with JNJ. It looks like I forgot to label one as “W” to indicate it was hers. I’ll still report the dividends we receive separately; however, I won’t have to adjust my YOY gain because she will finally have comparative data to report. The less effort will definitely be welcomed haha I like your idea for my use of free time 🙂